


Sleeping Parker

by melpomenethemis



Category: Leverage
Genre: F/M, Sleeping Beauty AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-01
Updated: 2013-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-23 06:31:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/619112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melpomenethemis/pseuds/melpomenethemis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There was a land split up into four kingdoms - Grifter, Hitter, Hacker and Thief, in which there is an alliance between the Hacker and Thief kingdoms, that their children will marry and the kingdoms will merge. But something goes wrong when Damien Moreau interferes... Sleeping Beauty AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sleeping Parker

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Challenge 17: GoodWrites of Heist 7 of Leverageland on Livejournal, where the challenge was to create a Leverage story which was prompted by a book.

Once upon a time there was a land which was split into four separate kingdoms - the Kingdoms of Grifter, Hitter, Hacker and Thief. Each of the lands prospered over the years, however there was a great rivalry between King Archie of Thief and King Colin of Hacker, but after the Great War between their kingdoms they wanted to improve their friendship. This lead to a betrothal contract being signed between their families, the newborn Princess Parker and the future Prince of Hacker. 

The King invited people from all over the land to the christening of his beautiful baby daughter, which included the young Prince Eliot of Hitter as well as Queen Sophie and King Nate of Grifter. However, he forgot to invite one very important person - he forgot to invite Damien Moreau, who was said to be “magic”. When Moreau heard about the christening through the kingdom’s grapevine, he was outraged. He raged for days about the injustice of this, destroying everything in his path as he believed that no one should forget him. Then he stopped. A cruel smile came over his face. He had a plan. One which no one would ever forget. 

He heard about the date of the christening and made his way over to the fortified castle. When he was stopped from entering his men took out the guards and he strode towards the door to the Great Hall. He was again stopped by guards, including the chosen guard for the Princess - Knight Todd McSweeten, which he swiftly disposed of. McSweeten fell to the floor, clutching the wound to his abdomen whilst scrambling for his weapon in an attempt to slow down Moreau. Moreau slammed his head against the wall, knocking him out permanently. He stepped over the still, bleeding figure of McSweeten in order to advance towards his prey.

Prince Eliot offered his gift to the newborn princess, a new device known as a taser which produced an electric current in order to provide protection. He demonstrated it for the royal family, which attracted the attention of Parker who sat quietly looking amazed at the crackling electricity. Eliot moved towards the crib as Parker giggled, her hand darting out to grab onto his long brown hair and hold onto it in a vice like grip. He gently removed his hair, smiling down at her. As he heard the doors crash open, he angled his body between the crib and the door in order to protect the princess, calling upon his training as a Hitter. 

Moreau stormed over to the dais where the royal family sat, his eyes darting about feverishly before settling on the cradle. Parker looked over at him from the cradle, her tiny eyes closing as she settled down into the blankets, curling up next to her bunny, a gift from Lady Tara. Moreau took this as the final straw, the final snub and something seemed to snap within him. He had made up his mind. 

A cold look came over his face as his sharp eyes moved across all of the people on the dais before settling on Parker again. “Too long I have sat in the shadows,” he whispered. “Too long I have been ignored by the four kingdoms. Well, now you will learn how I feel. You will know what it is like to lose the thing that means the most to you. I have a gift for you, Princess Parker. Well, I think of it as a gift, you might see it as a curse. I give you the gift of fore-knowledge. The fore-knowledge of your death.” 

He paused for a moment, gesturing with his hands which conjured some dark smoke before his eyes. He delicately shaped this into a willowy woman, with a dagger floating next to her. “When you reach your eighteenth birthday, your first day as an adult, young Princess, you will injure yourself with a dagger and die.” He gestured with his hand, driving the dagger image into the chest of the woman, smiling cruelly as he heard screams from the crowd. He took delight seeing the pale, gaunt face of the King. “Your kingdom will mourn, and slowly wither. There will be the end of the Kingdom of Thief. All from one little prick of a dagger. So mote it be.” He said scathingly before disappearing out of the hall, leaving a stunned audience behind him. As the doors closed behind him, people started whispering frantically between each other.

King Archie moved from his chair to the cradle in order to check on his daughter, knowing that there would be no heir to the throne other than the princess. A blonde woman approached the dais and he waved her up as she was known for being of fae descent. 

Maggie held the baby in her arms, smiling as Parker grabbed a piece of hair and tried to smell it. She chanted a rhyme of protection softly under her breath which had been passed down by her ancestors. 

“She may hurt herself on a dagger on her eighteenth birthday like Mr Moreau said, but instead of death she will fall into a deep sleep.” Maggie said, handing the baby back to her protective father.

***

The years went by and the little Princess grew to become the best thief in the whole kingdom, but her father was always very careful to keep her away from daggers. Unfortunately for the Princess, Moreau had a longer arm than King Archie could have anticipated. 

On her eighteenth birthday, as she climbed up to some of the unused towers of the palace, Princess Parker came into a room where Moreau was waiting for her with a dagger coated with a lethal poison. 

“What are you doing?” she asked Moreau.

“I’m practicing with my dagger. Haven’t you seen a dagger before?” he said slyly as he held it out to her. Parker’s curiosity was legendary throughout the Kingdom so Moreau knew that she would take it. Parker lived up to her reputation by taking the dagger with her hand. Moreau released his grasp on the handle, but put pressure on the blade so that it drove into the palm of the Princess, sending the poison into the bloodstream of the Princess. She went ashen as she looked down at her bleeding hand and she started to wobble precariously.

“Are you alright, Princess?” Moreau asked with fake concern, his eyes shining with a mixture of delight and triumph. 

“I...I...” Parker said faintly as the uneasy feeling continued, all colour draining from her face. 

Parker dropped to the floor and Moreau left the room, deliberately telling a servant, a serving girl by the name of Amy, he heard something from the tower. The servant found the Princess and carried her to the King who frantically tried to wake her, before being stopped by Maggie. 

“When will my daughter awaken?” King Archie asked Maggie desperately, grief written all over his features.

“I don’t know my King, it could be anywhere from tomorrow to a hundred years.” She stated sadly causing King Archie to cry out in anguish,. 

“What would make her wake up?” he asked. 

“Love,” replied Maggie. “If a man of pure heart were to fall in love with her, that would bring her back to life.”

“How can a man fall in love with a sleeping girl?” Asked King Archie, sadness and hopelessness filling his entire being as he looked over at his daughter. She lay on her bed surrounded by flowers with her bunny tucked underneath her arm. 

“I can make it easier for her,” Maggie said, thinking to herself. She drew on the magic around her to replicate the deep-sleep of Princess Parker, so that they slept while she slept and woke when she woke. As she finished the spell, the first thing she noticed was the total silence - only the birds chirped and darkness fell over the once proud kingdom.

***

The years passed by and while the people slept on unchanged, the vegetation grew, encircling the castle with bushes, grass and creepers, leaving nothing recognisable of the once infamous kingdom and slowly the rest of the world began to forget the Kingdom of Thief, becoming only a legend told occasionally to young children.

The Prince of Hacker, named Alec Hardison, rode through the road between their kingdoms, stopping as his mobile alerted him to a message from his godmother, Maggie, with directions to a location within forest area. He decided to explore it, following the generated map with his trusty steed Lucille. 

He reached the end of the path and found a castle with the highest towers he had ever seen. He cautiously rode towards the castle, ducking sharply to avoid the brambles which encircled the drawbridge. Immediately he saw the people slumped on the ground and dismounted from Lucille, trying to wake them up. 

He wandered through the castle, finding the lost Prince of Hitter, Eliot Spencer on the ground by the training field before he found the East Wing. He opened one of the doors and found the beautiful Princess asleep on the bed. He smiled as he noticed the bunny in her arms, and he took in her every feature, including her slightly mischievous smile that graced her face.

He sat looking at for a long time, eating a couple of gummy frogs and part of a pretzel as he thought about what to do, before he gathered his courage and kissed her gently on her cheek. 

At that kiss, Princess Parker slowly opened her eyes and noticed Prince Hardison, her eyes quickly looking over him as the spell broke over the castle. 

“I love pretzels,” she said simply, and he smiled at her, offering her part of the pretzel. King Archie and Prince Eliot ran into the room, finding Parker sitting up in bed munching a pretzel. 

King Archie immediately moved over to his daughter, encircling her in a hug which she gladly returned. The relief was evident on his face as he realised that his little girl was awake. Prince Eliot stood against the door, arms crossed and leaning against the frame as he surveyed the scene. He looked warily at Prince Hardison who looked a bit terrified of the Hitter, for reasons that Prince Eliot could not fathom. 

Upon noticing the King’s approach towards him, Prince Hardison moved over to him and offered his hand.

“My name is Prince Alec Hardison of Hacker, it’s a pleasure to meet you sir,” he said quickly as King Archie surveyed him sharply before shaking his hand. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Prince Alec Hardison of Hacker, my name is King Archie of Thief and this...this is my daughter, Princess Parker of Thief.” He said proudly, causing Hardison’s jaw to drop - he’d only ever heard of Thief in the form of stories told by Maggie. Hardison couldn’t believe it. Then he remembered that he was in the precence of royalty and offered him the packet in his hand.

“Gummy frog, sir?” He asked, and he would forever deny that the bag shook a little. 

Archie surveyed him for a moment, before chuckling to himself. “Don’t mind if I do,” he replied before taking a sweet from the packet. They both heard a commotion coming from the other occupants of the room so they looked over at Parker. She was poking Eliot in the arm repeatedly until he shook her off, giving her a one armed hug in order to prevent any more poking. 

“There’s something wrong with you,” Eliot murmured to her, to which he received a blinding smile.

***

A few days later everyone had recovered from their long nap and the celebrations began within the kingdom. Prince Eliot decided to stay within Thief, given his kingdom was taken over by his younger brother’s line, the line of Prince Quinn, after his absence. His decision to stay in the kingdom caused great joy to Princess Parker, as she felt as though he was her brother, her “Sparky” and he and Prince Hardison became firm friends, even if there is the occasional threat to Lucille every now and again. 

The relationship between Princess Parker and Prince Hardison blossomed, starting with Parker teaching Hardison how to rappel from a roof and their times together was never dull, but that is a tale for another time.


End file.
